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Saturday, February 06, 2010

52 Weeks of Genealogy Sources: Week 5, Diaries and Journals

Now I know what you are going to say. Your ancestor did not leave behind a diary or journal. That's Ok, mine didn't either. But guess what, someone who was a neighbor, an associate or some collateral relative might have left some writing behind that describe their life and their community.

One way to find out is by using the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC), http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/. This Library of Congress manuscript collection catalog provides a one-stop source for searching collections throughout the United States. Now, it does not cover every possible collection in the United States, but it's a great place to start. You can check out what institutions participate by clicking on the link for List of Participating Repositories on the left hand side column of the homepage.

To search NUCMC, Click on the link Searching on OCLC WorldCat located in the middle column of the homepage. You can then conduct a search using a keyword. I would suggest searching on the locality your ancestor lived in. Then you can see what manuscripts are available for that location.

You might be able to locate diaries and journals by searching the collections of a state historical society, local museums and other regional archives. You may also want to try university libraries in the area that your ancestor lived.

Other people's diaries and journals can provide valuable insight to your ancestor's life and the community they were a member of. Yes, this is a source that does not have a convenient index, but it can be a true genealogical gem.

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About Me

Gena Philibert-Ortega holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master’s degree in Religion. Presenting on various subjects involving genealogy, women’s studies and social history, Gena has spoken to groups throughout the United States and virtually to audiences worldwide. Gena is the author of hundreds of articles published in genealogy newsletters and magazines including Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle, GenWeekly and the WorldVitalRecords newsletter. She is the author of the books, From the Family Kitchen (F + W Media, 2012), Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing, 2007), and Putting the Pieces Together . Gena is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s journal Crossroads. An instructor for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Gena has written courses about social media and Google. She serves as President for the So. California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association. Her current research interests include social history, community cookbooks, signature quilts and researching women’s lives.